Joel Klatt predicts 2025 Big Ten Championship matchup, winner

The college football season will begin later this week, so the last chance to get predictions in ahead of the year is here. And Joel Klatt has picked the winner of the Big Ten, as well as the championship game matchup.

The FOX Sports analyst discussed his pick on The Joel Klatt Show. He’s got two traditional powers squaring off for all the marbles.

“I’ve got Penn State and Ohio State playing for the Big Ten title,” Klatt said. “Now, I do think Ohio State’s likely going to beat Penn State in The Shoe early in the season. There’s a chance that even with that other home game against Texas that Ohio State is undefeated at this point. They would be No. 1 in the country. But you’ve got to remember the pressure on James Franklin would be immense.”

Ryan Day felt that pressure a year ago after losing to Michigan for the fourth straight time. He was able to ease it by winning out and claiming a national title.

Could Franklin do the same? The Big Ten race could hinge on the answer to that question.

“Now in this scenario, let’s say [Penn State has] beaten Oregon earlier in the year and they have a win over a top-10 team and so you can say, ‘OK, they’ve gotten over that hurdle,'” Klatt said. “But remember, it wouldn’t have been against a traditional Big Ten power. He would not have ever, or at this point, beaten Ohio State in recent vintage, or Michigan in recent vintage, on this run that they’ve been on since COVID. So they have to get this win.”

Klatt actually believes the pressure applied by a Big Ten peer winning a national title recently could fuel Penn State. And the Nittany Lions have a lot of potential answers.

Quarterback Drew Allar returns, and Penn State went to work in the transfer portal trying to improve the weakness at receiver. Can those patches propel Penn State to the top of the Big Ten?

“The pressure on James Franklin would be immense,” Klatt said. “Because of that I actually think his team would play their best football. Experienced team, experience at quarterback. You don’t have experience on the other side. Julian Sayin, let’s say he’s the quarterback. He doesn’t have the home game environment that he would in The Shoe. And I think Penn State actually beats Ohio State and they win the Big Ten.

“They were right there last year, they lost to Oregon. They go back and they play for the Big Ten title and they beat the Buckeyes this time and they become the Big Ten champ.”